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Talk:Durmstrang Institute
Why would the Triwizard Tournament be in 1994? Somebody please fix this :That information is correct. The Triwizard Tournament took place during the 1994-1995 school year. Oread 15:16, 6 December 2008 (UTC) Pure-bloods Only? I think we need to clarify something - does Durmstrang only admit pure-bloods, or does it simply not admit Muggle-borns? In other words, does it admit Half-blood students? I don't have the Goblet of Fire text with me, but the Lexicon only says "it does not admit Muggle-born students" and references Chapter 11. Oread (talk) 03:46, 1 April 2009 (UTC) :I quickly skimmed through GoF11 and the bit about Durmstrang's admission policy seems to be drawn from this quote by Draco: ::"''Father'' actually considered sending me to Durmstrang rather than Hogwarts, you know. He knows the Headmaster, you see. Well, you know his opinion of Dumbledore — the man's such a Mudblood-lover — and Durmstrang doesn't admit that sort of riff-raff. But Mother didn't like the idea of me going to school so far away, Father says Durmstrang takes a far more sensible line than Hogwarts about the Dark Arts. Durmstrang students actually learn them, not just the ''[[Defence Against the Dark Arts|''defence rubbish]]'' we do..." :What Draco means by "riff-raff" is unclear. It could apply to Muggle-borns, blood traitors, or both. But Draco calls Dumbledore a "Mudblood-lover," and we do know that, under Dumbledore, Hogwarts had an open-door admission policy when it came to Muggle-borns. This leads me to conclude that Draco meant that Durmstrang does not admit Muggle-borns. ★ Starstuff (Owl me!) 05:31, 1 April 2009 (UTC)´ : If we said that Durmstrang '''only' admit pure-bloods. It means that Half-breeds including Half-giants like Hagrid or Half-Veelas and also Squibs are not allowed to that school. --[[User:You-Know-Who|'ÈnŔîčö']] (Send me an Owl) 07:25, 1 April 2009 (UTC) :Exactly. According to the rules of Wikipedia, concluding that Durmstrang only admits pure-bloods based on Draco's quote where he merely states I think it is possible that it admits Half-bloods too. We should change the Durmstrang, Viktor Krum, Grindelwald and Krum family articles to say that.--Rodolphus 09:44, 1 April 2009 (UTC) :I agree; it's only clear that Durmstrang does not admit Muggle-borns, which means the students could be pure-bloods or half-bloods. Oread (talk) 01:32, 2 April 2009 (UTC) ::We really should. I'm familiar with this Wiki's guidelines, but to conclude that Durmstrang only admits pure-bloods based purely on Draco's quote where he states that Durmstrang does not admit "Mudbloods" would constitute "original research". All articles on the subject should only state that Durmstrang does not admit Muggle-borns. I very much doubt that Durmstrang only admits Pure-bloods seeing as how Hogwarts would be overrun with plenty of Scandinavian, Slavic and Northern and Eastern-European students (rejected by Durmstrang, which is believed to be located in a Slavic country) if that were the case. 03:15, 12 August 2009 (UTC) :::The above entry was written by me, BTW. I forgot to login. Just for future reference should this debate drag on. FallenAngelII 03:16, 12 August 2009 (UTC) :::One thing that I've noticed is that it says that Durmstrang is only 4 stories tall. ::::: "though their castle is not quite as big as Hogwarts. The castle is only four stories tall and fires are only lit for magical purposes." ::::So, I think that they only accept Pure-bloods because they have such a small school. Also, that would explain, as you say FallenAngle, why there is so many students on Hogwarts that come from the Scandinavian countries. VegaGullberg (talk) 16:58, July 4, 2014 (UTC) :::::Actually VegaGullberg, that's the exact opposite of what FallenAngel is trying to say; they are saying that there aren't that many Scandinavians at Hogwarts and thus it's unlikely that Durmstrang only admits pure-bloods, a sentiment I agree with. --Hunnie Bunn (talk) 19:17, August 14, 2014 (UTC) :::::Plus on the pottermore website the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic page, written by J.K. Rowling herself states that "Beauxbatons Academy has a preponderance of French students, though Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Luxembourgians and Belgians also attend in large numbers (both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang have a larger studentship than Hogwarts)." proving that Durmstrang does have more students than Hogwarts. I can only see this being the case if it allowed half-bloods as well.Thefandomguy99 (talk) 03:37, February 5, 2016 (UTC) Etymology The suggestion for the etymology of the Durmstrang Institute is good, but i also wish to offer this (and perhaps include it, if it is deemed relevant). Durchmusterung when pronounced correctly sounds very close to Durmstrang. Durch - Dur. Musterung - Mstrang. With the appropriate german accent i'm sure you can see what i mean. Durchmusterung is the name of a star catalogue, which Rowling is no doubt familiar with given the amount of characters named after stars, constellations etc. Thoughts? Wil 7 02:48, 12 August 2009 (UTC) I believe it's a reference to the German movement of Sturm und Drang. 14:53, October 25, 2010 (UTC) Ava 10:52, 25 October 2010 :That is already mentioned in the article. -Smonocco 15:54, October 25, 2010 (UTC) ::It is obvious that there is a complete lack serious scholarship here. ::The likelihood that Rowling derived the name for Durmstrang from "Durchmusterung", a 19th century star catalog, which means "to sort systematically", is as ridiculous as the possibility that she derived it from "Darmstrang" another German word meaning "intestine extruded." In fact the whole idea is pure "stier darmstrang." And I don't believe that I need to translate that one. ::Rowling has not stated specifically where she got the name for Durmstrang. Pure conjecture suggests that it is a spoonerism for "Sturm und Drang", a German expression meaning "turmoil, ferment" taken from a late19th century German artistic movement, the name of which literally translates as "tempest and urge" or "charge and rush", anglicized to "storm and stress". This and any other conjecture is not canon and does not belong in the Harry Potter Wiki. ::acrobasis01 12:16 13 December 2013 Location We should not specify where Durmstrang is located in the main article. It was previously stated to have been located in Northern Scandinavia. The only source for this is that one interview where Jo says she "would think" (or whatever) its location to be in Scandinavia... which is ludicrous. Because if so, Jo truly got it wrong this time. While both Norwegian and Swedish are Germanic languages and "Durmstrang" is likely a play of words on the German term "Durm ung Strang", Norwegian and Swedish have moved so far away from their Germanic roots that "Durmstrang" means absolutely nothing in either language. Not only that, you would not pronounce "Durmstrang" the way it is pronounced in either language. Furthermore, the coat of arms of Durmstrang features Cyrillic characters. Norwegian and Swedish utilize Roman alphabets. So Durmstrang is either Russian, in a former Soviet state or German (or possible Austrian or Beneluxian). Unless you're suggesting that the school be located in a Scandinavian country, yet its name and coat of arms are in languages not spoken in any Scandinavian country (as an official language). I have therefore edited the page to read that Durmstrang is located in Northern Europe and I suggest we leave it that way. FallenAngelII 16:21, 14 August 2009 (UTC) :I agree with you that JKR hasn't really thought out Durmstrang's location very well. However, she did state at a book reading that she imagined Durmstrang being in northern Sweden or Norway, and, for the purposes of this wiki, "Rowling's Word is Law." ::This, I will concdede, is a good reason for listing the school as located in either Sweden or Norway.FallenAngelII 08:56, 17 August 2009 (UTC) :As for the Durmstrang's coat of arms, this was designed by the filmmakers for GoF, so the Cyrillic characters on it might not be in line with JKR's vision. However, if one wants to try to rationalize the cultural disparity, Norway does share a small portion of the northeast corner of its border with Russia, so it's possible that the wizarding community there, being isolated like wizarding communities generally are, has become something of a cultural enclave. :The name is harder to explain away. However, the school has existed since at least 1294, so it's possible it was founded at a point in time when people in Sweden and Norway were still speaking an older, more Germanic language (Old Norse? I'm sorry, but my philological knowledge is patchy, at best.). It's also possible that Durmstrang was named after a German witch or wizard who moved to the region to set up a school. Maybe this person figured they'd face less trouble in placing Dark Arts on the curriculum if the school was located in a remote region of the northernmost part of the continent. ::In 1294, Swedish was very much the same as it is today (it was, of course, different, but largely the same). I imagine it was the same for Norwegian. And though languages are Germanic in nature, as far as I know, no words even remotely resembling "Durmstrang" either in spelling or in pronunciation have ever existed in either.FallenAngelII 08:56, 17 August 2009 (UTC) :My point is that, yes, it's illogical for Bulgarians to attend a school in Norway with a German name that's apparently written in a Russian script, but that doesn't mean it's not canon, just like Slytherin's first name is still Salazar, even though it makes little historical sense for a British man who's supposed to have lived circa 1000AD to have a Spanish surname for a given name. ★ Starstuff (Owl me!) 06:27, 17 August 2009 (UTC) ::Given that Rowling's word is law, as stated above, this article should be reviewed by someone knowledgeable, as there are about four or five different locations mentioned in different parts of the article. 10:24, December 11, 2010 (UTC) I wonder what language they'd be speaking at such a school with such a diverse student body (and supposedly faculty). I mean, how could a scandinavian student (at least in their early years) be able to communicate with an eastern european student?? Even English classes aren't that adsvanced for 10 year-olds in Sweden and the option to study German is usually not available until you're eleven or twelve (and that is in a muggle school if there is instructors available for that language), Even more confusing is how the Durmstrang students (or at least Krum) seemed to have problem with the English. Thing is, English would have been the most logical language between students in a multi-nationality school. They should be pretty secure with it. Unless, of course, Durmstrang uses some kind of obscure translation spell (in which case there shouldn't have been any language barrier at all during the turnament). Though I have an odd feeling that Durmstrang isn't Scandinavian at all. I mean, it might be located in Scandinavia but we were never presented to a Durmstrang student with a Scandinavian name. Rather, the institute seems to have heavy slavic overtones. As such, it might be that is owned (privately, I would wager) by someone outside of Scandinavia and that it is adapted for a non-scandinavian student body. That would explain the foregn students, the kyryllic letters, the ridiculous (sorry!) clothes and the foreign name. Given the name I would wager that it was built/originally owned by a German/-ish wizard/witch but that over the century the ownership has slipped eastward and possibly north. Aryllia 10:17, January 25, 2012 (UTC) If you take a look at the history of Denmark it shows that there is no reason why a German name and cyryllic letters could not appear i the cheast. The Danish empire was spreed out to England, Sweeden, Norway, the Baltic countries, parts of Finland, the Northern part of Germany and Normandy. Between around 900 -1448 these countries and regions were at one point or another part of the Danish empire. http://www.zum.de/whkmla/histatlas/scandinavia/haxdenmark.html00:42, August 1, 2012 (UTC) Durmstrang is obviously Russian. The school's emblem is the double-headed eagle (just as in the Russian National Emblem) and has a Cyrillic inscription of it, Дурмстранг ("Durmstrang"). Since the first time me and my buds read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, ''we immediately figured out it was located in Russia. Students that came from the "cold north or northeast", with Slavic physical trates and Slavic last names ("Karkaroff", "Krum"), Viktor Krum being Bulgarian (a Southern Slavic country which was part of the Soviet Union). Locating Durmstrang in Germanic lands (such as main Scandinavian lands of Norway and Sweden) because of someone imaginated it is nonsense. I'm changing the information on the main page. Fredbarrett (talk) 04:21, April 23, 2014 (UTC) I would like to point out that Durmstrang isn't really muggle-born friendly, as we all know. So, its doesn't really make sense that a school of that sort would be located in Norway or Sweden. Both Sweden and Norway have a high number of immigrants ( Norway on 18th and Sweden on 25th place according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_net_migration_rate ). So in that case '''why '''would they create a school that only accepts Pure-Bloods (And possibly half-bloods) ?VegaGullberg (talk) 17:12, July 4, 2014 (UTC) Though I as Aryllia says it could be privatly own... And the wizarding world is cut off from the muggle world, so, it would make sense that they do note share the same, um, friendly point of view in this matter. And excuess me for my bad English, I'm swedish. VegaGullberg (talk) 19:04, August 14, 2014 (UTC) Finland would be an extremely sensible location for Durmstrang. Finland can be counted as a Scandinavian country. In addition, The Great Duchy of Finland was part of the Russian Empire from 1809 to 1917, which would explain the Cyrillic letters on the coats of arms, as well as the two headed eagle which was part of the coats of arms of both the Empire and the Great Duchy. In addition, the Russian Empire was strongly supremacist and anti-Semitic at times, which would match Durmstrang's policy against muggle-born wizards. In addition, despite remaining publicly neutral, Finland kept amicable relations with the Soviet Union during most of the Cold War, this would explain the amount Russian and Slavic last names among recent Durmstrang students and staff (Karkaroff, Poliakoff and Krumm) as Slavic countries like Bulgaria were under Soviet influence through that period. Finland would also make sense with Harfang Munter -Durmstrang's second headmaster- as Munter is a Swedish word; also, Munter is said to have had a big inclination to dueling and Martial magic, in the same way Sweden has had a prominent military tradition. Also the new official map of Wizarding schools, locates Durmstrang closer to Finland than to Norway and Sweden. Considering that the only account from where Norway and Sweden are mentioned as possible canonical location of the school, is the summary of an interview made to J. K. Rowling and not an exact transcript of her words. I believe that it is likely that she had just mentioned “Scandinavia” with Sweden and Norway being added only on the written summary. (just to clarify, I'm not Finnish)il Condottiero 04:19, November 21, 2016 (UTC) Geography OK, so we know that J.K. Rowling has said that Durmstrang is located in the far north of either Norway or Sweden. However, after doing some research into the geography of these two counties I've concluded that only Norway can be the true location of the Institute. We learn in GOF that Durmstrang is located in the far north, as the students wear fur cloaks as part of their uniforms. This fact alone do not establish either Sweden or Norway as Durmstrang's host country. It is Viktor Krums's convrsation with Hermione at the Yule Ball that does this. We learn from Viktor that the castle is situated in a mountainous reigon, and is in close proximity to at least two lakes. Viktor then goes into great detail in describing the climate at Durmstrang, stating that during the winter months there is very little sunlight. The highest point in Sweden is the mountain Kebnekaise at 6926 feet. This is fairly diminutive when compared with Norway's highest mountain Galdhøpiggen which measures 8,100 feet. Sweden's highest peak is not of a significant altitude to restrict sunlight to the degree that Viktor describes, but Norway's certainly is. Furthermore, Galdhøpiggen is surrounded by several major lakes including Gjende and Russvatnet, wheras the northernmost point of Sweden has no lakes, the closest lake being Torneträsk, which is located in the northwest. So, do I have a case? Or have I been reading way too much geography? Is this not a case of Rowling ''unintentionally making something canon? She herself stated that Durmstrang was in either Sweden or Norway, and Sweden just doesn't match Krum's descriptions, wheras Norway does - perfectly. Jayden Matthews 16:45, December 28, 2010 (UTC) :Seems fair. Perhaps we should add that it is most likely in Norway and add this information you gathered in the BTS section: one mustn't forget that alternatively Durmstrang can be located in a fictional area of Sweden. -- [[User:Seth Cooper| Seth Cooper ]][[User talk:Seth Cooper| owl post!]] 21:59, December 28, 2010 (UTC) ::Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. I guess I figured that we would assume our world is the same as the wizarding world except in those cases were it specifically differs. At any rate the last thing I want to do is add speculation. I recently tore apart the BTS section for this very reason, so, I'll leave the final say on where this info goes (if anywhere) to you. Thank god for Google Earth, right? Jayden Matthews 22:17, December 28, 2010 (UTC) :: Of course I realise that "Rowling's word is a law" so I will not struggle to convince anybody that Durmstrang Institute may be also located on e.g. southern Kola Peninsula or northern Ural mountains, in Russia (the main arguments are: surnames of mentioned students, use of cyrilic alphabet and the fact that geographical description of its location also fits places I mentioned) but I can't agree with argumentation given above. The height of a mountain (especially if we talk about difference of 1200 feet, and 350 m, which is too small to affect insolation) has no influence on amount of light at all, comparing to latitude of a given place. The higher latitude the shorter day becomes in winter and the longer it is in summer (that's why above the polar circle occur polar days and nights). Moreover latitude influence height of Sun at noon. So it's not altitude of mountain but latitude that cause lack of Sun in winter. The only thing we can assume is that Durmstrang Institute is located below polar circle, as Krum mentions that there is much less sunlight, still there is some, so it's on the area where polar night can't occur. Enmebaragesi :::I travel frequently in northern Scandinavia, and the description of Sweden in the article is very inaccurrate. There are vast mountainous regions in the north of Sweden, above and below the polar circle, and there are lakes almost everywere. /Hildifons (talk) 11:24, January 30, 2016 (UTC) Looking from Google Maps, the northernmost parts of Finland are considerably mountainous too, and full of lakes, of considerable size that would permit Durmstrang's ship to transport from Scandinavia to Scotland. If we consider also Finnish History, Finland would be more likely a location for Durmstrang than Norway or Sweden. And the only source mentioning Norway and Sweden as canonical sources is the summary (not an exact transcript) of an interview made to J.K. Rowling, she may have just mentioned Scandinavia with Norway and Sweden being added only on the written version. il Condottiero 04:49, November 21, 2016 (UTC) Possible depiction While browsing the internet, I found this image from the book Harry Potter Film Wizardry. It's one of the ice sculptures placed in the Great Hall for the Yule Ball, and I think it may be Durmstrang Castle. Check out these examples of Medieval Norweigian architecture. Jayden Matthews 16:43, January 2, 2011 (UTC) File:Durmstrang Castle.JPG|Durmstrang Institute? File:Rosenkrantz Tower.JPG|Rosenkrantz Tower File:Ole Bull´s villa.JPG|Ole Bull´s villa File:Flakstad.JPG|Flakstad :I agree. -- [[User:Jack "BtR" Saxon|Sa'X'''on]] 19:47, January 25, 2012 (UTC) :I have the Harry Potter Film Wizardry book. It says the sculpture is based on the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Durmstrang87 (talk) 00:20, August 2, 2012 (UTC) Building The Hogwarts building is a castle, the Beauxbatons building is a palace. What is the building for the Durmstrang school. Bizarre Introduction From the article: ''The '''Durmstrang Institute' is a wizarding school. It is located in the northernmost regions of either Bulgairia,12 although the latter is most likely.3 Durmstrang has, however, taught students from as far afield as Bulgaria.'' What latter? Is 'Bulgairia' a typo, or is it a Wizarding location? If the location is Bulgaria, why is it noteworthy to inform us the school taught people from the country in which the school is situated? I'd fix this myself but I don't know enough about Durmstrang to confirm the correct information. I think I saw that on HP lexicon, except it was Sweden or Norway, the latter most likely. Maybe someone was confused that Krum was Bulgarian. Durmstrang87 (talk) 00:29, August 2, 2012 (UTC) Eagle on the Durmstrang Crest I am German and I know the eagle on our flag. But I don't think that there is a similarity in shape. Harry granger 18:02, August 22, 2011 (UTC) I'm German as well and I do agree. The eagle featured on the Durmstrang crest doesn't resemble the German one. A double-headed eagle was used in the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire and later the German Federation, though.. Double-headed eagles are featured in the coat of arms of some German cities like Essen or Cologne, too. The countries featuring a double-headed eagle on their coat of arms today are Russia, Serbia, Montenegro and Albania. (Dyntia 22:40, December 22, 2011 (UTC)) The double-headed eagle was a common heraldic symbol associated with the Germanic and Russian Empires. The eagle makes sense if we consider Finland as a possible location for Durmstrang, following the comments of it being located in Scandianvia. The Great Duchy of Finland was part of the Russian Empire between 1809 and 1917. The Finnish coat of arms was then charged with the Russian double-headed eagle, this would also be in acord to the name of the school written in Cyrillic on the upper part of the crest (just to note, I'm not Finnish). il Condottiero 04:34, November 21, 2016 (UTC) The D monogram on both side of the stag's head is in the style of the Byzantine Palaiologos dynasty, which introduced the double-headed eagle to Byzantine and later Russian heraldry. NhazUl (talk) 18:26, January 2, 2019 (UTC) Two questions Are there any macigal universities? And how many school years you have to spend in Durmstrang. Thank You very much and Greets from Germany XD -- 16:10, February 17, 2012 (UTC) :? -- 13:08, March 15, 2012 (UTC) :Valid question. We do not currently know how many years of study there are in Durmstrang. There are no magical universities England (according to JKR), but as for the rest of the world, we do not know. DisturbedLemon 15:49, April 6, 2012 (UTC) ::Viktor Krum was eighteen when Durmstrang came to Hogwarts in 1994. So he is one year older than both Cedric and Fleur. Could this mean that students attending Durmstrang are there for eight years rather than seven? - User:Simen Johannes Fagerli Girls at Durmstrang in GoF Film? It was assumed in the move that Durmstrang was an all boys school. I was watching a peice of the movie and I saw this picture. Its the Durmstrang students cheering on Viktor Krum in the thrid task. If you look closely, there are girls in the Durmstrang section. Durmstrang87 (talk) 00:27, August 2, 2012 (UTC) :That these girls are rooting for Durmstrang is not proof of anything; Goyle can be seen supporting Krum, and Roger Davies can be seen among the Beauxbatons students supporting Fleur, but that does not change the fact that they are both Hogwarts students. -- [[User:Seth Cooper| Seth Cooper ]][[User talk:Seth Cooper| owl post!]] 01:49, August 2, 2012 (UTC) :Thats true as you have to remember that Victor Krum is a famous Quidditch player so it wouldn't come as a surprise that some people would be supporting him even if they weren't in his school. Rainbow Shifter (talk) 07:13, August 2, 2012 (UTC) :Didn't they say in the book that is was a all gender school? Or am I mistaken? VegaGullberg (talk) 17:19, July 4, 2014 (UTC) Yes, both Durmstrang and Beaubatons were all gender schools. There are small quotes in the book about girls from Durmstrang and boys from Beaubatons but one has to look for them. In the movies they made them single gendered schools for contrast - and did so in a way that was embarrassing - or, at least embarrassed me as a woman. (Vaudree (talk) 22:01, November 8, 2015 (UTC)) There is a rumour... "There is a rumour about the fact that the Durmstrang Institute has been founded by Salazar Slytherin after he left Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. By this way, it could explain why this school doesn't admit Muggle-born students." Do we have a canon source for this? Where do this come from? :It's fanon, added by an anonymous user. I've removed it. Thanks for pointing it out! -- [[User:Seth Cooper| Seth Cooper ]][[User talk:Seth Cooper| owl post!]] 16:37, June 28, 2013 (UTC) Name I don't think Durmstrang's Germanic name means much as far as it's location. Like at Hogwarts, even though they speak English, the name "Hogwarts" doesn't mean anything, unless the W.O.M.B.A.T. thing about The location and name of Hogwarts were both chosen by Rowena Ravenclaw, who dreamed that a warty hog was leading her to the cliff by the lake is true. Rabbitty (talk) 17:11, July 1, 2013 (UTC) International? I know that it isn't branches of the school around the world, but could one count Durmstrang as an International school? I mean, it's located somewhere in the Nordic countries, while having students from all over the world. From Bulgaria (Krum), and possibly Polan and Germany, (Poliakoff and Grindelwald), and it do happen some from even the UK goes there instead of Hogwarts. :Simen, signing your posts is your own business, not other peoples'. MinorStoop 12:37, December 2, 2013 (UTC) :I'm waiting for an actual answer... still. :::::sigh::: You'll have to satisfy yourself with none, I'm afraid. There's a minimum of politeness required to work on a wiki, which you've always refused to show. Now, other people are no longer willing to put up with your behavio(u)r. At least, I am. MinorStoop 20:02, December 3, 2013 (UTC) ::Can't say you've been any better. Now, since he's decided not to reply, do anyone else have a theory? Please? :::I can't say that I understand what you're asking. Yes, Durmstrang is an international school; it accepts pupils from multiple countries. Are you saying the article should emphasize this fact? It's already implied in the article, but I suppose it's not directly stated. :::And, as hostile as he may be being about it, MinorStoop is correct in saying that you need to sign your posts. An explanation of how to do so is included in the welcome message on your talk page. -- 1337star (Drop me a line!) 23:09, December 4, 2013 (UTC) Strenght obsessed? Don't misunderstand, I just love the more recent descriptions of Grindelwald's time as a Durmstrang students, but on his article, and while is sounds reasonably likely, it says: "He was educated at the Durmstrang Institute, where he excelled at magic and absorbed much of the strength-obsessed and Darkness-flavored school culture." When it says strenght-obsessed, what does that mean, exactly? Where does it say the focus on Durmstrang is obsessed with making their students 'strong'? I did a little research, and all I could find was this fanfiction where Karkaroff headed Durmstrang and spoke at the Welcoming Feast: "Another year of magical education awaits each and every one of you. To all those who have never set their foot within these halls before, I welcome you. Welcome to the point in your lives where your training in the study of the many disciplines of magic at last begins. Now: before I can allow you your first meal within the walls of this instiute, it is important that you all understand and that your older students are reminded of, our values. Our motto: '''Arte Magica Ego Pervenire Successus'.'' Know that at this fine institution, you will face challenges. At this school you will learn the true meaning of having your potential be put to the test, and we will do our best to ensure that you will not only find your limits, but also surpass them. Know this that it is expected that all students who choose to use magic at this school outside classes, do so to the best of their ability. Through hard work and discipline, you will all become strong, and you will all become powerful. You will learn how to handle the world. Its harsh brutality and its unparalleled beauty. I hope and believe that you all will find your place in this castle. Know that here, it is always possible to receive help for those who request it. Likewise, I take it for granted that your seniors will be available to assist you in your need of guidance outside school hours and scheduled office hours. You are from this day, exclusively part of the elite. From this day forth: You are sons and daughters of Durmstrang. May your stay offer many experiences that you will benefit from. That said, the meal will be served in a few minutes. Be seated." But where does the exceptionally great writing on Grindelwald's page come from? The text above certainly isn't canon. So question is: Is it just an assumption? :Simen, signing your posts is your own business, not other peoples'. MinorStoop 12:37, December 2, 2013 (UTC) ::I don't know exactly where that was taken from, but I think it may derive from the teaching of the Dark Arts there, coupled with Karkaroff's overall treatment of his students. However, and as you rightfully pointed out, that could be just a poor assumption. I wouldn't complain (quite on the contrary) if it was replaced by a more objective-sounding, NPoV wording. -- [[User:Seth Cooper| Seth Cooper ]][[User talk:Seth Cooper| owl post!]] 17:38, December 2, 2013 (UTC) Pottermore Could someone please insert in the article Pottermore's new info about Durmstrang? Thank you. NazivonS (talk) 15:15, January 16, 2014 (UTC) Agree. Especially - "Durmstrang once had the darkest reputation of all eleven wizarding schools, though this was never entirely merited." - "The ex-pupil who has done more than any other to cause damage to Durmstrang's reputation is Gellert Grindelwald, one of the most dangerous wizards of the twentieth century." It seems to me that Gellert damaged Durmstrang's reputation because he did not change his name but Riddle did not damage Hogwart's reputation because he changed his name to Voldemort. Note should be made that, while Gellert's reputation tarnished Durmstrang's own, Durmstrang has the sense to expel Gellert - Gellert is not a graduate of Durmstrang. As far as I can remember, Riddle was held in high esteem by many of his Professors when he graduated. (Vaudree (talk) 22:10, November 8, 2015 (UTC)) Headmaster school position I read at Talk:Headteacher of Durmstrang Institute during 1792 that the Headmaster/Headmistress school position is called Highmaster/Highmistress. Is that truth? I didn't find this information in this text, should it be added? Andre G. Dias (talk) 09:24, March 29, 2014 (Brazil) They call the Durmstrang head highmaster in the film, but that's not canon. Pottermore uses the term headmaster.--Rodolphus (talk) 11:15, March 29, 2014 (UTC) That is a point there - JKR tends to only point out terminology differences if they exist between English speaking institutions - and while they did learn English at Durmstrang, it doesn't seem to be the first language of many of the students. Though it is possible that English was a common language and there were lots of different dialects among those who attended. French seems to be the dominant language at Beaubattons and I presume that Headmaster (I refuse to call anyone other than Umbridge Head Mistress, for obvious reasons - ok, Karkaroff too since he seemed to have siphoned off a bit of the wealth of the school into his own pocket being so much better dressed than the students and the school being cold), was the English translation of the French term. For the record, Canadian media is more apt to use the term Finance Minister (what we call ours) when referring to the British Chancellor of the Echequer (sp?) though both terms are used. (Vaudree (talk) 22:25, November 8, 2015 (UTC)) Durmstrang is clearly Slavic, not Germanic! The in-universe elements of Harry Potter's canon reveals a clearly Slavic/Russian origin (school's emblem, Slavic last names, Slavic countries such as Bulgaria explicitly mentioned), and that should be more important than a random interview with JKR. Rowling was probably thinking about countries that she's more familiar with (Norway and Sweden instead of Russia), but their geographical features might perfectly resemble Russian Far Northwest landscapes as well (i.e. Kola Peninsula, which is attached to the Scandinavian Peninsula). In-universe elements in the series demonstrate Durmstrang is Slavic/Russian: Durmstrang emblem, such as (Дурмстранг, which is Cyrillic text that is literally transliterated as "Durmstrang" in the Latin Alphabet) and the 2-headed eagle (which is Russia's national emblem); along with the fact that most students have Slavic last names (i.e. Karkaroff, Krum; being Krum himself a Bulgarian national and Bulgaria a Southern Slavic nation formerly a client state of the Soviet Union). I bet that, if you ask Rowling personally about Durmstrang Russian's origin by exposing the previous arguments, she would accept its Slavic ties (despite the fact that Durmstrang landscapes resemble those fiordos in Norway and Sweden). Fredbarrett (talk) 04:58, April 23, 2014 (UTC) :Aside from the fact that Rowling's word is law here and thus her interview statements are among the highest form of canon, your arguments have several other flaws. Saying "most" students have Slavic last names based on two students and a headmaster is like saying Hogwarts is actually in Asia because it has students named Patil and Chang. You're also forgetting the very German Grindelwald, also a Durmstrang alumnus. Also, the crest you mention comes from the films, which obviously try to play up the school as Slavic; it also portrays Durmstrang as an all-male school, and we know that's not right. -- 1337star (Drop me a line!) 10:56, April 23, 2014 (UTC) Magical protections I think we should mention the school security, this is what we know: *The school is unplottable. *Every visitor will be subjected to the Memory Charm so that they can not speak about the schools location. This is likely: *One can not Apparate or Disapparate on the school grounds, done to keep out intruders. Simen Johannes Fagerli How do we know if Karkaroff attended Durmstrang? I was just reading this article, and apparently Karkaroff is listed as one of the known students to have attended the school. But how do we know if he even attended Durmstrang? The last time I checked, it was unconfirmed which school Karkaroff attended. -- C.Syde (talk | contribs) 07:41, May 6, 2015 (UTC) Location According to the "map of magic schools" from Pottermore, Durmstrang Institute is somewhere in Russia or in Belarus or in the Baltic states. Not in Skandinavia.Генеральный Инспектор (talk) 06:19, January 30, 2016 (UTC) : I completely agree. Pottermore should count for more credibility than ONE unverified blogg/article that was written by a fan 16 years ago. I've stated more reasons in the forum (link: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Forum:Durmstrang's_Location?t=20160326221006) to why this information needs to be corrected. I'd just like to hear if there are anyone out there who disagrees with me, or have a better source to that "statement" JKR assumedly made. The funny thing is that the Durmstrang wikia page states it as a ''fact ''that the school is located in Sweden or Norway, when JKR actually states in the very same article they are referring to that she isn't ''certain ''where Durmstrang is. Lokrume (talk) 17:24, March 27, 2016 (UTC) Finland-Norway border I just realized that Durmstrang could very well be located in Scandinavia if it was near the Finland-Norway border. It would explain the Slavic overtones, since while Finland is in Scandinavia, it does not have Germanic roots. Both their culture and language have Slavic roots, and they are very different from other Scandinavians. This would work unless some people are still wanting it to be around the highest peaks available up here (I'm from Denmark, so I'm Scandinavian) which is in Norway. Maybe we should ask JKR about this. I wonder if she'd say something like Russia by now instead. Lukas Exemplar (talk) 23:13, November 14, 2016 (UTC) Speaking for Norwegian HP fans, I would be very disappointed if Durmstrang weren't within reasonable driving distance from my home. :P You could try contacting her on twitter, but I've tweeted her about sixty-three different and much more interesting questions since 2011, and has never recieved a reply. Think she only ever reply to acquaintances or something. Ninclow (talk) 15:20, January 13, 2018 (UTC) Durmstrang in the book as well in the movie is coded as Central/Eastern European. If there's any parallel here between the muggle and wizarding world, there would be an equivalent of the Iron Curtain until 1989. Bulgarians such as Viktor Krum would have had trouble getting education at a Western European school, unless they're children of the political elite. NhazUl (talk) 09:29, August 7, 2018 (UTC)